the visitors back from the
far echoes of their own beginnings to the noisy unconcern of a Freshman
year that knew a kind, white-bearded face from pictures only, and never
could understand.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT.

For the Sake of Argument.

"For we are frank and twenty
And the spring is in the air!"
HOVEY.

"Well!" said Miss Meiggs, spreading across her lap one of the Beta Rhos'
new monogrammed napkins, "I must say _your_ being here is a surprise."

Pellams answered in vague interrogation, not a little surprised,
himself, to be caught at a "girl-supper." Now that he was cornered, it
would be uselessly impolite to tell her how the Chapter had reasoned and
pleaded with him until at the last minute "Cap" Smith ruined his clever
escape by catching him midway down a porch pillar. Smith, sitting on the
other side of Katharine Graham and wearing the smile of satisfied
revenge, would doubtless enjoy telling it. There was so much of genial
malevolence in that smile that Pellams, the woman-hater, who knew only
enough of the co-eds to avoid them, wondered what sort of a girl he had
been placed next to at supper. He had an intuitive idea that she had
been given him by general consent. An experienced society man would have
scented this at once in the company of Mrs. Perkins, for when there is
a choice of tables, chapter-mothers are apt to sit where there is the
least sentiment; but this was the Junior's debut, practically, and he
was conscious of little more than that the fellows had it "in" for him,
and that this girl had begun the conversation by a personal remark.

"I judged," the girl was saying, not having waited for any explanation,
"that in the milder forms of social entertainment you were somewhat out
of your element."

Pellams had missed his guess. On sitting down to their small table, he
had decided that the conversation would naturally split into two
divisions of three rather than into three couples, for Mrs. Perkins,
Professor Grind and this Meiggs girl would enjoy themselves together,
leaving him to share Smith's talk with Miss Graham, whose eyes had
somehow an engaging twinkle. The idea was rudely dispelled by Miss
Meiggs's immediate and decidedly personal attack. At least, he would
have preferred to talk about other people, but he faced the music.

"Oh, I disapprove of them only for myself," he replied, "not for
others."

"And why for yourself, parti